The winter can seem like a crummy time to live in the Valley. All this cold and rain. Even our snow days are rainy. The news can get you down—fire, crime, taxes, shoddy winter Olympics construction.
But before you really get down consider that there’s a lot of love that makes the Valley go round. With Valentine’s Day upon us, let me just chalk up the things that may brighten your heart, locally speaking.

Valley Center Stage presents A.R. Gurney’s “Love Letters,” 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 14 and 15. The show, performed by Rochelle Wyatt and Peter Cook, plays one weekend only. Tickets are $17 and $14.50 for seniors.
Love Letters, which premiered on Broadway in 1989, tells the story of lawyer Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and artist Melissa Gardner, whose lives have been entwined since they met in second grade.

Mount Si linemen Brad Christensen and Jack Nordby have played football together since their elementary-school days.
The duo get a rare chance to continue that tradition, as they head to Monmouth, Ore., this fall to play for the Western Oregon Wolves.
Nordby and Christensen were both key parts of the Wildcat’s hard-hitting and award-winning line this season. Christensen, in particular, a third-generation Valley football player, picked up first-team Kingco honors for his role on the offensive line, second-team for defensive line, and an all-state nomination. Nordby was right there with him.

United States Congressman Dave Reichert takes the podium at the Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce's Friday, Feb. 21 luncheon.
Reichert will talk about what is happening in Washington D.C. that will affect small business in 2014. Members from the other Chambers within the 8th District will also be invited to the luncheon, which begins at 11:30 a.m. at the TPC Snoqualmie Ridge.

Cole Landreneau, left, created a homemade crane, a cantilevered machine used by Egyptians to bring water up for irrigation. He used a wire-cutter to make a hinge, built the body from sticks in his backyard, and used clay and lead bits for the counterweight. The real model, he says, would have been big enough to dip into a real river.

Photographer and Bellevue College teacher Ray Pfortner gives a presentation to the Mount Si Artist Guild, noon Saturday, Feb. 15, at Mount Si Senior Center, 411 Main Ave. S., North Bend. The event is free to all MSAG members, or a $5 donation for non-members.

What is it about marriage that captivates us? Why is it that a show about finding the perfect wedding dress can run for 11 seasons on TLC? Why is it that the most liked pictures on Facebook are wedding and engagement shots?
There is something inside of all of us that wants to believe in true love. But on an even deeper level, I think we all know that marriage isn’t just about romance; it’s about generations of people and the communities that are formed around them.

A pet pig escaped its enclosure on Southeast Delta Street in Snoqualmie and had a small adventure on Sunday, Jan. 26. With the help of the Snoqualmie Police Department, though, the animal was returned home, safe and sound, in the early afternoon.
“I don’t know how they did it — it’s a big pig!” Snoqualmie Police Chief Steve McCulley. “It might be tame enough that it just comes along, but after a while, you learn to come prepared. I usually carry a leash.”

Package pickup: On Sunday, Feb. 2, a business in the 500 block of Northeast Sixth Street in North Bend reported online that two packages left outside for UPS to pick up were stolen. UPS reported the packages were not available for pickup. The packages were identical, and one was found near a dumpster in the city.

A class on an important local farm and preserve, Meadowbrook 101, is 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Meadowbrook Farm Interpretive Center, 1711 Boalch Avenue
Led by local historian Dave Battey, this free presentation covers the colorful history and possible future options for this unique 460 acres of open space.

Even in an age in which the longevity of marriage isn’t certain, many will agree that there is something almost magical about a lifelong love.
Valley couples Harley and Kathy Brumbaugh, Jack and Bonnie Barker, and Lynn and Larry Anderson have all been married more than 50 years, and that’s something to celebrate.

As a concerned brother in the Lord and a lifelong resident of our Valley, I am disheartened by recent events pertaining to our local food bank. I do not know all that went into North Bend Community Church asking Mount Si Food Bank to leave, and regardless of whether or not it was just, it happened.

Forty-five German students from Mount Si High School are going to an international concert.
One of Germany’s most popular young indie pop bands, Tonbandgerät (‘Tape Recorder’), make the first stop on a four-week tour through the United States, Sunday, March 4, at Everett’s Civic Auditorium. Admission is free, but registration is required.

North Bend resident Mary Brunstad Jones died on Sunday, Feb. 9.
Mary was born on November 29, 1920, and grew up in Port Orchard, Wash. Although she spoke no English until she started school, she skipped two grades and became valedictorian of her graduating class at South Kitsap High.

An up-and-comer in the world of jazz drumming, Walker Byford learns as he plays. Byford is just 10 years old. By rights, he should prefer the newest pop music. But there’s something about jazz.
“You’re able to play whatever you want,” says Byford, who listens as his teacher, local jazz drummer Brian Gmerek, improvises riffs to the sounds of Chris Clark’s bass.
The two adult musicians are jamming on the stage at Boxley’s, the jazz club and restaurant in downtown North Bend, as middle-school and high-school age jazz musicians arrive for their Wednesday night show.

Gardeners and small farmers will find more than seeds this year at the Snoqualmie Valley Seed Exchange and Garden Fair. This fourth annual exchange will be held on Saturday, March 1 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m at the Sno-Valley Senior Center, 4610 Stephens Ave., Carnation. The all-volunteer event is part of a movement to preserve small-scale, regionally adapted, heirloom and open pollinated seeds.

Reps. Jay Rodne and Chad Magendanz and Sen. Mark Mullet invite Fifth District residents to attend an upcoming town hall meeting in Snoqualmie on Saturday, February 22.
Citizens who attend will receive an update on the 2014 legislative session. The legislators are encouraging citizens to bring their questions, comments or concerns about legislation, state government and issues affecting the district.

Seven Valley movers and shakers, seven pro golfers, and two sister cities—those are the recipients of the existing keys to the city of Snoqualmie.
Mayor Matt Larson and City Clerk Jodi Warren designed an official key to the City, after seeing a key engraved with "City of Snoqualmie," and designed as a bottle opener, exchanged with the city of North Bend in a softball challenge between the two cities.

Sample local wines, cheeses and chocolates at the Sno-Valley Senior Center's second wine-tasting event, 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22 at the center, 4610 Stephens Ave., Carnation.
The wines featured will come from Belmonte Cellars and Pleasant Hill Cellars, both in Carnation, and Wm. Grassie Wines, Fall City.

A celebration of life for Beverly B. Sams of Fall City is 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, at Raging River Community Church, 31104 S.E. 86th St., Preston. Beverly, 81, died Monday, Feb. 10.
Born April 3, 1932, to Lydia and Chris Septin Walla Walla, Wash., Beverly was the oldest of three children.

A Contra Dance and waltz lesson is 6:30 to 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, at Sallal Grange, 12912 432nd Ave. S.E., North Bend.
The band will be the very talented "Creekside", with Lindsey Dono as the caller. The evening will start with a delicious soup, brimming with fresh vegetables and accompanied by hearty, rustic bread, which will be available at 6:30 p.m. The musicians will play waltzes in between the Contra Dance. Don’t know how to waltz? Dance Leader, Tim Noonan, will be giving Waltz lessons between 7 and 8 p.m.

Visitors stopped, took in the relaxing scene, and left inspired, often asking Adam Gorski how it's done. Gorski and his team spent several days creating the south-of-the-border-themed display, “Leisurely Morning in Mexico City,” one of the award-winning show gardens at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle.